


Figuring It Out

by theultimatefangirl2002



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bullying, But Mostly Sad Them, Car Accidents, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Eventual Romance, Everyone has backstory, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Internalized Homophobia, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Annabeth, POV Leo, POV Nico, POV Percy, Sad, Sad Nico, Sad Percy, Sad everyone, Suicidal Thoughts, This'll be pretty sad, eventually, itll get better i promise, sad leo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-03-11 05:51:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13517886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theultimatefangirl2002/pseuds/theultimatefangirl2002
Summary: “Depends on what you’re interested in.” She said quickly, forcing her eyes to meet his. “Do you enjoy LARPing or boy scouts more?”Percy’s eyebrows raised slightly and he smiled a little wider. “Who doesn’t enjoy a good LARP every now and then?”Annabeth resisted the urge to smile- because he was definitely trying to flirt with her- and rolled her eyes. “Do you want me to mark you down?” She asked.He shook his head slightly, grinning. “I’ll get back to you on that.”It was Annabeth’s job to help Percy Jackson adjust to this school and, essentially, to figure him out. So far, she wasn’t have any luck.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Percy Jackson, I only own my own writing
> 
> (OML ANOTHER PJO PERCABETH HIGH SCHOOL STORY OML HOW ORIGINAL)

**** Annabeth straightened her shirt, staring at herself in the mirror. Her grey eyes met their reflection and she brushed a strand of hair back from her eyes. Watching herself in the mirror always weirded Annabeth out, but also amazed her. She always felt like a little kid, watching herself move with a strange facination, but the fact that she was about to watch herself brush her hair or wash her face was seemed like a symbol of how far humanity had come. 

 

There she went again. Annabeth’s eyes dropped from the mirror and she turned around, taking a deep breath. She couldn’t do that- not today. She didn’t want to bore any of the new students and giving a tour was already boring enough. The last thing that Annabeth needed was to go off on a tangent about how incredible humanity was. 

 

It was her first day of Junior year and Annabeth was supposed to be showing several new students around the campus today. Usually, Annabeth didn’t put much thought into her appearance- after all, it didn’t matter too much- but today, as it was two special occasions wrapped into one, she had tried to make an effort. 

 

Her eyes fell to the clock on the table beside her bed. 7:23. She had 12 minutes to eat and be outside for the bus to pick her up. Grabbing her gray backpack from the floor, Annabeth left her room. 

 

Her house was quiet today. Her step-mom and Annabeth’s siblings were out, because their middle school  _ wasn’t _ out of the way for her step-mom on her commute to work, unlike the high school. Annabeth set her bag onto the kitchen table and walked into the kitchen to grab something to eat. Her eyes latched onto a note scrawled in the messy handwriting of her father attached to the fridge. She grabbed it, trying to read the illegible writing.

 

_ Annabeth, _

 

_ Happy first day! Sorry I couldn’t be there to see you off, I was needed early today. I hope that you have a great day! _

 

_ Love, _

_ Dad _

 

Annabeth took a deep breath, looking up from the paper as if to look at someone- but she was all alone. At least, for now. In a few moments, she’d be missing the quiet silence of her house, but for now, it felt loud. The silence always felt too loud.

 

Just for once, Annabeth wished she could have seen her dad before her first day of school. But, just like every other year, he wasn’t here and, just like every other year, Annabeth was destined to have a bad year full of next-to-no friends. 

 

_ No _ , Annabeth told herself.  _ You can’t think like that. If you think like that, then you’ll see in the negative all year. If this year is going to be better, you have to start by being optimistic _ .

 

That was hard for Annabeth. She tended to see things realistically and reality was messy and dark and imperfect.  _ But _ , she sighed as she threw the note away,  _ you have to start somewhere _ . 

  
  


**************************

  
  


There were 4 students on Annabeth’s list that she was touring- one of which she was supposed to be mentoring this year. She flipped through the list of places she was supposed to be taking them, sighing deeply as she walked down the halls towards the office. Annabeth hated giving tours- she always felt like she was boring them and would much rather be talking about the amazing architecture than the list of teachers who didn’t really care, but no one was interested in that. Also, she had to skip classes to give tours. She didn’t mind the “skipping class” part, it was more so the “making up work” that she disliked. Annabeth hated being behind. 

 

Annabeth pushed her way through the crowds of her classmates, all of whom were laughing and talking loudly. Her eyes darted around, looking from cliche to cliche. Although she would never admit it to anymore (even to herself), being surrounded by all of these people who were so obviously  _ together _ in some way made her feel more alone than she did at home. Annabeth was just glad that it wasn’t silent. 

 

She reached the office quickly and pushed open the door. The noise of a hundred of students dulled as soon as the door shut, replaced by the ringing of phones and typing of keyboards. Annabeth’s eyes scanned the room and located 4 students sitting in the waiting area. Ms. Capozzi, the secretary, looked up from her computer and smiled at Annabeth. She nodded in response as the secretary got up and walked towards the students. Annabeth followed. 

 

Ms. Capozzi smiled at the four of them. “Alright everyone, this is Annabeth. She’ll be giving you a tour of the school today. Feel free to ask her any questions you have over the course of the tour, or even some that you have right now! Class will start in a few minutes and then you guys can go on your way once the halls clear out.” Annabeth admired the secretary’s optimism. She wished she could be that cheerful all the time, but granted, Ms. Capozzi got to work in here, where it wasn’t as loud and there weren’t as many people. Annabeth figured that 5 students was about the maximum amount that was ever in this room at one time. 

 

The students awkwardly nodded at her, obviously not knowing what to do. Annabeth nodded, looking down at the sheet of paper in her hands before looking back up at the 4 new kids.  _ Hannah Myers, Mitchell Reyes, Ellie Lawrence, Percy Jackson _ . The 4 had seperated themselves by gender naturally, with the two girls on the left and the two boys on the right. Annabeth took a deep breath before saying, “Alright so… We should probably go around and say names before we get going. I’m Annabeth.” She glanced at the group of girls. 

 

One of the girls looked up at her. She had a pretty face, with wide brown eyes, strawberry blonde hair, and an expression of netural, calmness that surprised Annabeth. The girl was small and slender, wearing clothes that were even more dischieveled than Annabeth’s normally were. “I’m Hannah.” The girl said. Her voice was soft and warm, but there was an edge of “I don’t really care” that surprised Annabeth even more. Most kids on the first day of school were on edge, nervous, or just sad. This girl was either really good at hiding her emotions, or she truly just didn’t care. 

 

The girl next to Hannah looked anxious. She had short, curly brown hair. She looked up at Annabeth with wide, pale blue eyes. She had a sprinkle of freckles across her nose and she reminded Annabeth of an American Girl Doll. “Ellie.” She whispered so quietly that Annabeth could barely hear her. Annabeth gave her a sympathetic smile. 

 

The first boy was basically sprawled out in the chair, grinning at her widely. He had a gap in his two front teeth and his face was small and pudgy. His hair was light brown and messy, with a bright blue stripe up the side. He held out his hand, nodding slightly as he examined Annabeth. “Name’s Mitch Reyes.” His voice was low and smooth, as if- oh  _ god _ , was he trying to hit on her?!

 

Annabeth quickly nodded at him, putting on her perfected stone-cold glare that showed that she wasn’t interested. Now that she really looked at him, Mitchell Reyes looked the part of a “womanizer”. She’d have to stay away from him because Annabeth Chase did not like to be played by anyone, especially not by boys trying to seduce her. 

 

She turned her attention towards the last boy, who had been sitting quietly, scrolling through his phone. He had messy black hair and tan skin. When he glanced up from whatever he was doing on his phone, Annabeth was suddenly struck by how green his eyes were. Her heart, despite what she had  _ just _ thought, skipped a beat in her chest and holy  _ crap _ \- “Percy.” He said, sounding exhausted. “I’m Percy.” His eyes ran up and down Annabeth again before looking back to his phone, as if he didn’t care. 

 

Annabeth nodded, slightly distracted now. She hated thinking like this because it impaired judgement and made her feel silly, but… Percy Jackson (if she was remembering his last name right) was hot. Really… really hot. Annabeth wasn’t one to judge like that, but… She hadn’t ever met someone who struck her like that before. He… He looked like a god. 

 

_ That’s ridiculous _ . Annabeth thought quickly, attempting to bring herself back to the present.  _ He’s hot… so what? It’s his first day at a new school- he’s not going to be looking at anyone like that for a while and besides, who knows if he’s even nice?  _ She forced herself to focus. She had a tour to give. 

 

The bell rang and Annabeth sighed, tearing her gaze away from Percy Jackson-  _ oh god, she had been staring at him?! _ She cursed herself silently. “Okay, so… let’s get moving.” Annabeth said awkwardly. She always had trouble with starting tours, but as soon as they got going, she had no trouble. 

 

The four students slowly stood up, looking up at Annabeth with expectant eyes. Annabeth was taller than all of them, except for Percy Jackson. She hadn’t noticed it before, but he was tall and long and muscular… She tore her gaze away from him turning towards the glass doors. The halls were pretty cleared out now. “Okay.” Annabeth pushed open the door, taking a deep breath before walking out into the hallway. “So I’m here to officially welcome you to Eastview Academy. First things first… Your lockers.” Annabeth flipped the page, looking to the information she had been given. “Okay. Hannah, 245. Ellie, 232. Mitch, 231. Percy, 312.” She looked back up at them and pointed down towards the end of the hallway of lockers. “The 200’s start here and the numbers go up as you move that way.” 

 

Finding each of their lockers took less than a minute. Efficient, Annabeth nodded as they reassembled back next to her, now without any of their bags. She turned down the hallway. “Alright. So just a little history… Eastview Academy was originally a mansion for the Abrams family. This building is over 100 years old and the Academy has only been running for about 50 years.” 

 

“Wow.” Mitch remarked from behind her as they walked. “That’s old.” 

 

Annabeth didn’t know how to respond, so she just continued to speak. “Yeah, and we’ll be starting our tour from the West Wing and working our way through. Because this place used to be a large mansion, there are a lot of extra rooms that are getting new uses every day.” Annabeth didn’t mention that plenty of couples had been caught hooking up in almost every room, but she got the feeling that her new classmates could figure out the many uses for the empty rooms on their own. 

 

As she went along, Annabeth got lost in the useless facts that she was required to say, sprouting the teachers names and the classroom numbers from the top of her head as if these kids were actually retaining any of the information. 

 

She brushed her hair out of her eyes as they reached the office once again, turning to face the four of them. Hannah remained looking unimpressed, Ellie looked overwhelmed- poor girl, Annabeth thought-, Mitch looked cocky, and Percy looked… neutral. Annabeth was good at reading expressions and body-language, but Percy was like a blank book to her. It was almost threatening. “Okay, so from here I think that you’ll be meeting with your student mentors to get your schedules.” Annabeth pushed open the door to the office, smiling at them in a practiced way. “It was great to meet all of you. I guess I’ll see you in classes.”

 

They mumbled thanks as they stepped into the office to be greeted by the other students inside- their peer mentors. Annabeth sighed, walking in behind Percy, who’s eyes scanned the room, almost as if searching danger. The more she studied him, the more she realized how tense he was. There seemed to be a lot to his story- a story that Annabeth wasn’t sure she wanted to know. He seemed complicated and… almost dangerous, like there was a sharp edge. Hesitantly, Annabeth tapped his shoulder. He turned his head quickly, his green eyes meeting hers and startling her once again. They were so bright and… beautiful, honestly- the color was so pure and reminded her of the sea. “Uh, Percy, I’m your peer mentor.” Annabeth smiled at him. 

 

He nodded, his eyes scanning her face. Annabeth noticed the tension didn’t melt from his shoulders. “Cool.” He looked back at the others, all of whom were meeting with the own peer mentors. 

 

Ms. Capozzi had stood up again and was standing in the center of the room. “Alright, you all should go and review their daily schedule, give them a run-through of all of the sports teams and the school’s extracurriculars… You know, all that jazz.” She gave them a blinding smile. “I think the library is open. You guys can all go and talk there.” Ms. Capozzi smiled wider, although Annabeth didn’t know how that was possible. “Happy First Day everyone!”

 

Annabeth looked up at Percy. He glanced down at her, meeting her gaze. “You remember where the library was?” Annabeth asked.

 

Percy shrugged, looking back up at the others. “Not really. I wasn’t entirely paying attention.” Annabeth couldn’t tell if he was kidding or not. 

 

“Okay then…” She said softly. She stepped back, pushing the door open behind her and stepped out into the hallway. The talking of the other students followed her. Percy walked silently beside her. “So did you move here?” Annabeth ventured, trying to make conversation.

 

Percy shook his head. “No.”

 

“Oh.” Annabeth looked forwards again. “How’d you end up here?” She glanced back up at Percy and saw that he had tensed up again. He shrugged slightly. Annabeth sighed, slightly frustrated. It was like he was trying to kill the conversation when all Annabeth was trying to do was be nice. “Do you live nearby?” She tried again.

 

Percy nodded. “Yeah.”

 

Annabeth looked ahead again, trying to push down her frustration because it was his first day at a brand new school and all of this was probably really overwhelming, but she was trying to make conversation and he was just shutting her down. “Have you always lived in New York?” 

 

Percy’s eyes darted to the side. “Isn’t the library down this hall and to the… left?” He said hesitantly.

 

“To the right.” Annabeth corrected. He was trying to divert her attention and get her to stop talking. Knowing that frustrated her more, but she could kind of understand. “Come on then.” 

 

The library was big and spacious. Annabeth immediately relaxed, her eyes searching around the many bookshelves. Starting tomorrow, Annabeth would spend one of her free periods in here as a library aid. She loved books and reading, unlike most of the kids here, so she imagined it would just be an hour to read and relax. 

 

She walked towards a table in the far back of the room and sat down. Percy sat down across from her, almost as if they were in a business meeting. Annabeth grabbed another paper from her stack and flipped it over, revealing the timetable that was Percy Jackson’s schedule. “Okay…” She slid it so it was between them, turned so both of them could read it. “First period you have Bio with Ms. Beasley, second is US History with Mr. Blofis, third is Algebra 2 with Ms. Samson… Lunch, then American Lit with Mr. Brunner, a free period, gym, and then Latin also with Brunner.” Annabeth looked up at him. His eyes were scanning the paper thoroughly, as if he had missed something. “Room numbers and times are all on the schedule.” Annabeth added. He stayed silent, turning the paper so he could look at it better. When he didn’t say anything after that, Annabeth added, “Do you… have any questions?”

 

Percy shook his head slightly, looking up and meeting Annabeth’s eyes. He smirked a little, suddenly looking cocky and almost confident. “I’m good.”

 

Annabeth studied his face for a moment, wondering where this change in mood had come from before nodding and looking back at her packet again, flipping the page to the one with the list of extracurriculars. “Okay… Did you do any sports at your old school?” Percy shrugged. Annabeth sighed, her frustration returning. Was it that hard to answer a question? “Well, we have a lot of teams here. Soccer, cross country, mountain biking, swimming, basketball, nordic and alpine skiing, baseball, lacrosse, skateboarding, track…”  Annabeth met his eyes again. “Tryouts start tomorrow for soccer, cross country, swimming, and mountain biking. Any interest?” 

 

Percy’s eyes flitted down to the paper in Annabeth’s hand, thinking. Annabeth clicked her pen on the table, watching him. She could almost see the gears turning in his head, which confused her because it was just choosing a sport. It wasn’t  _ that _ complicated. “Swimming?” Percy met her eyes. “Is that like a year-round thing or…?”

 

“Yes, but you can only do terms of it if you want.” Annabeth explained. “You’d still have to do gym though.”

 

Percy nodded slightly, grinning slightly as if he’d just won the lottery. “Cool. That sounds cool.”

 

Annabeth made a checkmark next to the  _ swimming _ category and looked back up at Percy. “Alright. We also have a bunch of clubs and other stuff… I can give you a list, but those don’t start until next week and they usually meet either right after school or during lunch.” Annabeth handed him one of the papers. Percy looked at it for a moment before glancing back up at her. Annabeth raised an eyebrow. “Do you have any questions?”

 

Percy shook his head before looking back down at the paper. “No, I got it… Which of these would you recommend?” He added, his eyes meeting hers. There was a slight edge to them now and Annabeth realized he was smirking, teasing her.

 

Her cheeks flushed a little and she looked away. “Depends on what you’re interested in.” She said quickly, forcing her eyes to meet his. “Do you enjoy LARPing or boy scouts more?”

 

Percy’s eyebrows raised slightly and he smiled a little wider. “Who doesn’t enjoy a good LARP every now and then?”

 

Annabeth resisted the urge to smile- because he was definitely trying to flirt with her- and rolled her eyes. “Do you want me to mark you down?” She asked, her pen hovering over the space.

 

He shook his head slightly, his smile remaining. “I’ll get back to you on that.”

 

Annabeth bit her lip, looking down at her watch. 9:21. “Next class starts in 10 minutes.” She grabbed her bag and began to zip it up.“If you have any questions or need anything, just ask.”

 

Percy grinned wider. “Thanks for the offer.” He  _ winked _ at her. 

 

Her cheeks flushed more and she stood up, pulling her bag over her back, suddenly almost angry- but not quite. “Don’t get so cocky. I’m only doing this because I’m your mentor.” Annabeth snapped back, crossing her arms. “Don’t be late to class- Mr. Blofis doesn’t like tardiness, especially on the first day-”

 

“Oh, I know.” Percy shrugged, leaning back in his chair. The attitude of the quiet boy on his phone that had been in the office was gone, replaced by his irritating, cocky  _ thing _ . It confused Annabeth to no end. “Mr. Blofis is a family friend.”

 

Annabeth rolled her eyes. “Just be on time, Jackson. I’m sure he won’t make an exception, even if it is your first day here.”

 

“I know, he told me. Thanks for the advice, Chase.” Percy answered, grinning as if this was some sort of joke. Annabeth sighed, irritated more than she had originally realized, and stalked away, leaving Percy Jackson in the library. 

 

It was Annabeth’s job to help Percy Jackson adjust to this school and, essentially, to figure him out. So far, she wasn’t have any luck.   
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jarrod’s eyes lifted from his hand, meeting Percy’s eyes. “Kids here.”
> 
> Gabe raised an eyebrow. “Back already?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own PJO or HOO, I only own my writing
> 
> TW for implied abuse

His stepfather was there when he got home. Percy could smell him. He slowly let the door shut behind him, thankful for the numerous voices talking and cackling in the living room. He had a few hours of rest before Hell reigned down. Both literally and figuratively.

 

Percy stepped into the room, his eyes scanning the group of men sat around the crappy TV in the center of the living room. Five men sat around it, watching the blurry Football game, drinking from crinkly beer cans, and playing Poker. Percy wrinkled his nose, looking at them. He’d seen all of them before; Jarrod, Mel, Lloyd, Cal, and- of course- Gabe Ugliano. His step-fathers four poker buddies were all sat around him with Gabe at the head in a big, puffy black chair as if he was the king.

 

Yeah right. Gabe couldn’t keep track of his own keys, let alone a _kingdom_.

 

Jarrod’s eyes lifted from his hand, meeting Percy’s eyes. He grinned with stained teeth, laughing harshly- actually probably coughing because he was a smoker. “Kids here.”

 

Percy bit back the sarcastic remark because it would come back to bite him in the butt. All five men turned to face Percy, glaring at him with very similar expressions. Last to turn was Gabe. His beady little eyes met Percy’s and, once again, Percy was struck by how similar his step father was to a baby hippo. Gabe raised an eyebrow. “Back already?”

 

“It’s 3:20.” Percy answered, surprised at how in-check his tone was.

 

Gabe rolled his eyes, glancing back at his friends before looking back to Percy. “Didn’t I tell you I’d be hosting a poker party until 4?” _No_. Percy stayed silent. Gabe shook his head. “And now you’ve interrupted it.”

 

Percy didn’t realize it, but he had tensed up. “Sorry.” He said emotionlessly. “I’m really, really, _really_ sorry that I interrupted your important party.” Sometimes Percy thought he had a deathwish- speaking to Gabe like that, even when there were other people in the house. He just couldn’t help himself- maybe it was his way of showing fear. Sarcastic remarks. Great defense mechanism.

 

Gabe’s eyes narrowed and Percy’s heart skipped a beat, but he stood his ground. “I don’t like that attitude, kid.”

 

 _I don’t like yours either_. Percy bit his lip, hard.

 

His stepfather’s eyebrows rose. “You gonna say something?” Percy stayed silent. Gabe laughed, harsh and cold. “What, finally learned to shut up?” He shook his head, looking back at the TV before meeting Percy’s gaze again. “Since you so rudely interrupted my party, I expect you to hand over whatever cash you got.”

 

Percy looked away, which was his first mistake. “I don’t have any.” He said emotionlessly before meeting Gabe’s eyes. _Not like I’d give it to you. I need it more than you do_.

 

Gabe raised an eyebrow. “Oh really. Lunch money? Cab money? Whatever-the-hell-you-want money? You used it all.” He thought, which obviously took a lot of effort. “You got $20, which is more than you needed. School lunches are what, $5 nowadays? Cab ride home is about 10 minutes.” His eyes scanned Percy’s body, which made him uncomfortable. “Unless you walked home, in which you’d have $15 in change.”

 

Percy cursed in his head, digging his hand into his pocket and pulling out the $15- how the _hell_ could his stepfather do that?! It was insane. “Fine. I hope you loose.” Percy snapped, throwing the cash at Gabe. It fell short and Percy saw his stepfather’s eyes flare dangerously. He stepped back quickly, walking as fast as he could without running towards his room. He yanked open the door and slammed his shut, locking it behind him.

 

For the first time since walking into this house, Percy let out a sigh of relief. For now, he was okay.

 

Hopefully.

 

**************************

 

The door handle rattled and Percy immediately pulled off his headphones, tense. Silence filled his room as Percy glanced around, trying to find something- anything- he could use to defend himself (although it was fruitless) when there was a knock on the door. One long one. One short. Pause. Another short.

 

Percy immediately stood up, pulling open the door. His mom’s eyes met his and the tension melted from Percy’s shoulders. He opened the door wider. His mom stepped into his room, glancing back in the tense way that both of them had adopted, and Percy shut the door. “Percy…” His mom wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him into her.

 

Percy’s arms wrapped around her and he shut his eyes, his forehead resting on her shoulder because he was taller than her now. _Mom_ … Percy’s mom could make him feel better by simply stepping into a room or looking in his direction. She always knew what to say or what to do to make him feel better. Unfortunately, she’d married Gabe to help support herself and Percy after Percy’s dad left. Since then, Gabe’d been making life Hell for both of them. His mom was all that Percy had ever had, all that he could ever trust…

 

Slowly, she pulled back from the hug. Percy lifted his head, meeting her eyes. Her hand fell from behind Percy’s head to his cheek. “Are you okay?” She asked softly.

 

Percy nodded. “Yeah.” His voice didn’t work for a moment- it wasn’t until then that Percy realized how grateful that Gabe hadn’t done anything, how scared he had been of Gabe break down his door again-, but he cleared his throat and nodded. “I’m okay…” It was sad- this was almost normal. Sometimes he was okay, other times he wasn’t. Sometimes his mom wasn’t okay. Those were the worst days. It was so bad that they’d created a secret knock so they’d know it was the other one of them at door instead of _him_. The only reason that they were still there was because Percy’s mother didn’t have enough money to support both of them, rent out an apartment, and pay for Percy’s tuition.

 

What his mom didn’t know, was that Percy had been saving whatever leftover cash he managed to sneak past Gabe for the past two years. He was going to get them an apartment, or start it off. He didn’t care that much about school- not that he would last long at this place anyways- so Percy could drop out and get a job and help his mom financially. But he wasn’t letting them stay with that _monster_ any longer than they had too.

 

He would have been _that_ much closer if Gabe hadn’t taken his money…

 

“How was your day?” His mom asked as they moved back, sitting on his bed. As if everything was normal.

 

Percy shrugged, thinking back on his first day at a brand new school for the first time since arriving home. “It was fine, I guess…”

 

“Tell me all about it.” She smiled at him. Her smile could light up an entire room. “I want to hear about _everything_.”

 

Percy smiled a little bit, shrugging again. “I mean… it was school…”

 

“Did you meet anyone?” His mom prompted.

 

“Yeah, I mean, there _are_ other kids there.” His mom laughed, poking his shoulder. Percy smiled wider. “I’m going to try out for the swim team too… and maybe basketball in the winter. Also maybe sign up for some clubs?” He thought back to his conversation with Annabeth and smiled a little. She’d been nice- really pretty, although definitely not into him. That was… okay. She had seemed nice- maybe they could just be friends? They sort of had too, since she was his peer mentor.

 

His mom’s face lit up. “That’s great, honey! That’s great… Oh! I almost forgot!” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small bag of blue candies. Percy’s face lit up and he grinned, looking up at her. “It’s your first day back at school.” His mom explained, handing it to Percy.

 

“Thanks mom.” Percy opened the plastic bag and pulled out a blue piece of licorice. It was impressive how much blue candy his mom managed to find in the candy store where she worked. There was so much in here- blue jelly beans, blue licorice, blue raspberry lollipops, blue tootsie-rolls, blue M&Ms (and only blue M&Ms), blue Sour Patch kids (only blue ones too)... He held out the bag to her. She smiled up at him and reached in, grabbing a blue raspberry lollipop.

 

There was a loud laugh from outside. Percy instantly tensed, his eyes darting to the closed (and locked) door. It took him a moment of silence to realize that the poker party must still be going on. Gabe couldn’t have found anything funny without his friends- unless he looked in the mirror. Maybe he finally realized he needed to shave or put on deodorant. Or both.

 

His mom’s hand rested on Percy’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Percy…” Her voice was almost inaudible. Percy looked over, meeting her gaze. She looked so sad it almost hurt Percy to look at her. Percy couldn’t believe that anyone would dare treat his mom so horribly. His mom was the nicest woman on the face of the earth. If anyone deserved better, it was her.

 

Even more the reason to get the hell out of his apartment.

 

**************************

 

Percy gazed out over the cafeteria, searching for an empty table or an empty spot he could slide into. Generally speaking, Percy didn’t like lunch as a period. He didn’t have any friends to sit with or any way to make friends without seeming like the desperate new kid (which he had been multiple times before and it wasn’t fun).

 

Luckily, he noticed the blonde head of his peer mentor Annabeth Chase sitting at a table with another girl. _Well_ , Percy thought as he made his way over towards them, _if she turns me away, I can just guilt trip her into letting me stay because she’s supposed to be mentoring me._

 

He reached the table. The other girl Annabeth was sitting with- she had dark skin and caramel colored hair- looked up and smiled at him. Percy gave her a half-smile back. Annabeth turned to face him and, once again, Percy was struck by how pretty she was. He blinked it back and cleared his throat, gesturing with his head to the empty seat beside Annabeth. “This seat taken?” Annabeth pursed her lips before shaking her head, as if determining whether or not Percy was worthy of sitting with them. Percy pressed his lips together, nodding as he sat down. “Great. Cool.”

 

He sat down, setting the tray of cafeteria food in front of him. None of it looked appetizing, but since he had swim tryouts later, Percy had to make himself eat something so he’d have enough energy to crush his opponents. Usually Percy didn’t turn down food. This food was the exception.

 

“I’m Hazel.” The girl sitting beside Annabeth said.

 

Percy looked up at her. She looked nice, but she was definitely a freshman. Percy wasn’t sure how he knew, but there was this… freshman feeling to her. He nodded at her in recognition. “Percy.”

 

“Are you new this year?” Hazel asked. Percy nodded, failing to mention that, if she was a freshmen, he had probably gone to her school before being kicked out at some point in time. “Cool. Me too.” She looked over at Annabeth before probably realizing that she hadn’t introduced herself. “Do you guys know each other?”

 

Annabeth nodded. “I’m his mentor.” She bit into her sandwich before looking over at Percy. “How were your classes?”

 

Percy shrugged. “Samson is boring, but I hate math anyways so…” He failed to mention that he hated most classes due to being dyslexic and ADHD. “How were _your_ classes?” He added, meeting Annabeth’s gaze.

 

She set down her sandwich and shrugged before looking away. “Not bad. You were late to English, though.” Annabeth added with a pointed look at Percy.

 

Percy grinned, although his insides squirmed. Paul hadn’t been happy with him for being late. He hated it when adults weren’t happy with him- and then he hated himself for being scared when they weren’t happy with him. _Not all of them are jerkwads_ , he told himself time and time again, but still, his heart raced everytime someone raised their voice at him. “It’s the second day of school, Chase.” Percy looked down at the cafeteria slop on his tray. “He understood.”

 

Annabeth seemed to swallow words before she could say them. She glanced over at Hazel as if to say, _Can you believe him_ ? Percy got that look so much he could basically translate it. It either came with the _Hey be nice_ or _No I really can’t_ look. Hazel was giving the first answer. Percy liked her already. Not like it really mattered-  he always ended up driving everyone away. His friends at his old schools, his dad… 

  
_Maybe this school will be different._ Percy thought bitterly before sighing and sticking his fork into the slimy green beans. _Or maybe it wouldn’t. Everything is always the same. Why would this new school be any different?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sarcasm is the best defense in the eyes of Percy Jackson  
> (gonna get him into hella trouble)
> 
> I'm honestly so excited to write more of this, so you can probably expect more updates sooner than later. I got lots of ideas and ahhhhhhh!!! Thank you so much for the support so far? It's insane?
> 
> Anyways, next is Leo!!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He just had to make it to school and then he would be good, but that shouldn’t be a problem. Leo was nearly an expert at getting out of a house uncaught and, at least, about a days length away. It was the “not getting caught after actually running more than a town away” Leo needed some work on.
> 
> Guess he'd be getting that now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I need to keep saying I don't own the PJO/HOO series? I'll say it again anyways because, unfortunately, I don't

Leo’s bag was almost packed. He didn’t have much in the first place and honestly, he didn’t want to keep most of it. The only thing that really mattered was the ring he kept on a string tied around his neck. Sure, having extra clothes was always a bonus, but at this point, Leo didn’t entirely care. He just wanted out.

 

He was supposed to go back to school tomorrow, but all of his school stuff was sprawled out on his desk. The only remaining thing in his backpack that was related to school was the loaned out laptop every student was given. Leo didn’t plan on returning it before leaving.

 

Taking a deep breath, Leo looked through the contents of his dark gray backpack once again. Extra pairs of clothes, a small blanket, the laptop, a big water bottle, a pack of granola bars he’d stolen from the kitchen, the school’s laptop and it’s charger, and about $300 he had stolen from his foster parents. He felt bad for taking the money, but Leo figured that he needed it more than they did. After all, they had more than enough as it was.

 

Leo zipped up the backpack, his eyes wandering around the room he had called “home” for the past few months. He had tried- he really had- but this place felt less like home than the last one. Leo was convinced it was the town. He just didn’t fit in here; not at school, not at “home”... nowhere.

 

His foster-parents wouldn’t admit it, but they knew he didn’t fit in with their perfect idea of a family either. Leo was messy, _very_ ADHD, and quick to crack a joke. His foster-parents were nice and all, but their main focus was success and he’d only heard them say a total of 3 actually funny jokes (he had counted). Leo spent most of his time in his room or in the garage, either messing around with the computer or building things with his foster-dad’s tools. Recently though, he had just been planning his escape.

 

Leo figured he should go and take some of the tools too. Never know what he would need once he was gone. Plus, it wasn’t good to be underprepared. Maybe he’d need to hotwire a car again. He got up, walking towards the door. He pulled open the door to the hall and peered out. No one was in the hallway. There was a light flickering downstairs, but it was almost 11 so it was probably on by accident. On a weekday, most of his foster family was passed out by 10. Impressive. Leo usually didn’t fall asleep until at least 1 in the morning.

 

As quietly and quickly as he could, Leo made his way downstairs. He glanced out to the left, to where the TV was blaring. He could hear snores, meaning that his foster-dad Alec had fallen asleep while watching some sports show. Normal. He let out a breath and turned towards the garage. The door squeaked if it was pulled too fast, so Leo would need to be extra careful about not waking up Alec.

 

He stepped into the dark kitchen, pausing a moment to let his eyes adjust before moving forwards, careful to avoid all of the dark shapes of furniture. Leo reached the door quickly and took a deep breath, slowly turning the knob and beginning to pull. He opened it just enough so he could slip in and let out a sigh of relief. He glanced back towards the blaring TV and smiled before stepping back into the cold garage.

 

Leo shut the door behind him when he heard the sound of footsteps beside him. His heart leapt and he spun around, ready to defending himself- either verbally or physically (although Leo was pretty bad at physically defending himself… and verbally defending himself)- when he realized it was just the families golden retriever. He let out a breath, pressing a hand to his chest as he knelt down. “Festus, you scared me…” Leo mumbled softly, rubbing the puppy’s head. Festus licked his hand. “We gotta be quiet, okay?” Leo added before standing up and walking towards his “workshop” area.

 

The foster family had gotten Festus a month after Leo, as if having an ADHD child and a new puppy together was a good idea, but Leo and the puppy had formed a special bond. Leo had seriously considered bringing the dog with him, but regretfully decided against it. It really wasn’t his dog and Leo didn’t want anything to happen to him. Leo had had some pretty scary encounters on the run before and he was pretty sure that a cute puppy like Festus wouldn’t stand a chance.

 

Leo stopped in front of the workbench and switch on the lamp. He hadn’t been down here in a week, due to planning his escape, but his many half-finished projects were still there, untouched. Leo smiled a little, wishing he could take them with him so he’d have something to do on any long nights, but he didn’t have enough room. He started to grab tools off the shelves- a hammer, wrench, pliers, a file, and an assortment of nuts and bolts.

 

Leo glanced back at the door, which was still closed, and then looked down at Festus, who was waiting at his feet with his head cocked. Leo smiled a little before picking up the pile of tools and moving back towards the stairs. The door didn’t creak. The TV blared on, the snoring echoing from the living room the same. Leo made it back to his room and shut the door. He let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. How Leo would have explained sneaking upstairs with an armful of tools to his foster-dad, he wasn’t sure. Good thing that he didn’t have too.

 

He set the group of tools down on the bed, unzipped his bag and began to fill up the remaining space with the hardware. Festus had followed him back up to his room and was sitting on the bed next to Leo, watching as he set the now-filled backpack onto the ground, ready for tomorrow. Leo turned to face the dog and sighed, wishing he could bring Festus with him once again. It’d be nice to have Festus to be around, someone who’d listen and stay with him… But he couldn’t.  

 

Leo switched off the light and laid down. Festus slowly moved so he was lying next to Leo, looking at him with concern. Leo smiled a little, reaching out and petting the dog’s head. “I’m gonna miss you, buddy…” Leo said softly. “But I have to go.” The dog cocked his head again, a sad look coming over his face. He whined a little. Leo shushed him, glancing up at the closed door before looking back to the puppy. “I wish you could come with me, but I don’t want anything to happen to you.” Festus rested his head down on his paws, whining again. “Sh… it’s okay…” Leo pressed his lips to the top of the dogs head. “I’ll be okay.”

 

And he would be.

 

Because he was leaving.

 

**************************

 

Pretending his bag didn’t have heavy tools in it was harder than Leo was prepared for. He groaned, pulling it up onto his back, already regretting packing the bag so full, but it was too late now. If his foster parents happened to look in his room before he left, Leo didn’t want to have to explain why there were tools in his room. With Festus behind him, Leo made his way downstairs.

 

It was chaotic, as usual. Why Leo’s foster family had decided getting a puppy and a new teenage ADHD child was a good idea when they already had 3 crazy children was beyond Leo’s ability to comprehend. Alec was already gone, which left the children and Ellen, Leo’s foster mom. The two twins, Elijah and Paige, were running around and play-fighting with their food. Shannon, the oldest biological child (but one year younger than Leo), was sitting at the table, attempting to eat her cereal without getting hit by the volley of Lucky Charms that was being thrown back and forth due to Shannon’s little siblings. Festus immediately barked and ran to help the twins make a mess, leaving Leo standing in the hallway, grinning at the chaotic mess with a much-too-heavy backpack. A great final image to remember when he was gone.

 

Ellen was trying to regain control of her children and puppy. She gave Leo half of a smile before Elijah threw more cereal and she yelled, “Elijah, Paige- _stop_!” They didn’t. It took a lot to get the twins under control. They were like Leo that way.

 

Leo- thankfully- let the bag slide off of his shoulders onto the floor, careful not to let it make a sound. He just had to make it to school and then he would be good, but that shouldn’t be a problem. Leo was nearly an expert at getting out of a house uncaught and, at least, about a days length away. It was the “not getting caught after actually running more than a town away” Leo needed some work on. Guess he'd be getting that now. Shannon didn’t even look up. She was too busy scrolling through her phone. She was in Hazel’s grade and, honestly, barely acknowledged Leo’s existence. Not that he blamed really her, after he dated one of her friends.

 

Just another reason to blow this town.

 

Leo poured himself a bowl of Lucky Charms, looking around the house for what he hoped would be the last time. Festus was sitting beside him, staring up at him and whimpering. Leo reached down, petting the dogs head. He hoped the little puppy wouldn’t do anything to get him caught because the dog seemed to understand what Leo’s plan was and didn’t want him to leave.

 

The screaming escalated before Ellen finally put her foot down and Elijah and Paige were threatened by no-TV-grounding. Everyone returned to the table, eating their breakfast before getting on the bus- phase one of Leo’s plan was successfully getting on the bus, getting to school, and not entering the school building.

 

Ellen smiled up at Leo over her coffee. “How did you sleep, Leo?” She asked. Even after the months he had stayed with them, it seemed like she acted as if it was the first night.

 

Leo nodded, shrugging. “Fine.” He took another bite of cereal. Festus whined again, tugging on Leo’s pant leg under the table. He looked down and rolled his eyes, acting as though the dog was simply begging again.

 

“Anything fun going on at school today?” Ellen asked, spreading the newspaper out in front of her. Another thing Leo had noticed- they still got and read the newspaper daily, despite the fact that all of them had iPhones. They’d even given one to Leo, which- he reminded himself- he either needed to leave here or disable the “Find a Friend” thing. Should be easy enough. Leo was good at technological stuff like that.

 

He shrugged. “Not that I know of.” _I’m not going to school, so that’s exciting. I’m not coming back here either so that’s also exciting_.

 

The conversation turned away from Leo almost instantly. Shannon was having some sort of guy problem- like always- and glared at Leo as if it was his fault. After Hazel had broken up with him, Shannon had acted as though he was the spawn of Satan- despite the fact that they both had agreed that it wasn’t working and it hadn’t been big or explosive or anything bad like that. At least as far as Leo knew.

 

Once the clock turned to 7:23, Leo stood up, grabbing his too-heavy bag from beside him. _Ugh_ … He pulled it up and onto his back again, forcing his expression to remain neutral. The bus rolled up outside and Leo moved towards the door when Ellen called after him, “Wait Leo!” He turned to face her, one foot out the door. “I was thinking maybe I could bring you guys to school today.” She added, smiling widely. “I have a few extra minutes before work.”

 

“Oh.” Leo’s eyes darted to the bus and back. “No, really, it’s not that big of a deal-”

 

“Please.” Ellen grabbed her purse from beside her. “My treat. Come on!” The little kids cheered and laughed, play-fighting again. Shannon barely acknowledged it. Leo glanced back at the bus again before reluctantly stepping back into the house, his heart heavy.

 

Phase one was already a no-go.

 

**************************

 

Leo’s bag was significantly lighter. He’d run back upstairs and quickly unpacked his bag, stuffing all of his materials into the corner of his closet before packing everything he’d need for school that day. He felt stupid- he should have planned for something like this, but Ellen usually was late for work and had to run out the door minutes before the bus arrived. How was Leo supposed to guess that _today_ would be the one day that Ellen would have enough time to bring them to school?

 

Festus had followed him up to his room. Leo turned to face him and sighed. “Hope you’re happy.” He pulled his bag onto his shoulders, gripping the straps before walking out of the door, shutting it as soon as Festus trotted out behind him.

 

Ellen was waiting downstairs with the two twins, who were still playing imaginary games with one another. Leo smiled a little. He remembered playing like that, back before his life had fallen apart and his mom… His smile faded instantly.

 

He tried not to think about his mom because it hurt too much. It brought back bad, bad memories and too many feelings for Leo to count. If he had to think about her at all, Leo would much rather do it after school when he didn’t have to go and pretend everything was fine, when in his mind, Leo was thinking of a much simpler time, back before the fire and before his entire life _broke_ because of him-

 

“Shannon!” Ellen called. Leo flinched, suddenly shaken out of his thoughts. There was a muffled yell back and a minute later, Shannon had came downstairs, looking- if possible- less awake than she had moments before. Ellen smiled at her children and Leo. “Alrighty, here we go.” Together, as a group, all of them moved towards Ellen’s car.

 

Leo, in attempt to feel better, forced a grin onto his face. “Shotgun!” He called, speeding up his pace so he reached the door first. He pulled on the handle and swung himself into the seat, trying hard to remain the happy, jokester Leo that he’d been acting as for years. It was second-nature now- whenever Leo was with another person, he transformed from the quiet, sad boy into the loud, laughing, ADHD persona of Leo Valdez that everyone knew.

 

He sighed, pulling his seatbelt over his chest as the other doors opened, the fake grin returning to his face. Leo was supposed to be on the bus with a bag full of survival equipment (if it could really be called that), headed to school where he would get off and walk in the other direction, away from the doors and out towards who-knows-where. Instead, Leo had a bag full of school supplies, headed to school in a van full of his foster family where he’d have to walk in with everyone else and come home to an exhausted Alec and Ellen, who wouldn’t want to deal with him or any of their kids (but especially him) and so he’d end up in his room, wishing he was somewhere- anywhere else. Leo didn’t want to burden them already more than he had, so he’d just try the next day and the next day until it finally worked and he was gone.

  
It _would_ work.

 

It had too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So basically, Leo in this story has gone through some crap. He'll be regular Leo when he's with other people, but when he's by himself, he's usually just lost in thought and not doing as hot. So like regular Leo lmao
> 
> Either way, I'm still really excited about this and thank you so much for all of the responses and hits??? Like I'm shook??? I really hope that you like this because I'm so excited and I have a lot of ideas that I'm, well, excited for!
> 
> Next is Nico!!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico would be at home, laying in his bed staring at the ceiling. Alone, yes, but alone was something he had learned to deal with. At this point, he’d rather be alone than in this crowd of people. It was easier to disappear when you were alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty much just to introduce characters and Nico's situation. Thank you for reading!
> 
> TW for bullying/homophobia and a car crash.

Nico popped open his locker, listening to the soothing acoustic guitar in an unsuccessful attempt to block out the loud conversation all around him. He could still hear the loud laughter and talking like a dull roar. He hated this school. 

 

Nico slowly pulled out two of his binders, exhausted after only one period. If he had a way to get home, he would take it. It was times like these when he hated being the youngest kid in his grade- too young to even have thought about taking drivers ed. If he had access to a car (without stealing and hot wiring it), Nico would be at home, laying in his bed staring at the ceiling. Alone, yes, but alone was something he had learned to deal with. At this point, he’d rather be alone than in this crowd of people. It was easier to disappear when you were alone. 

 

Suddenly, his locker slammed shut in front of him. Nico looked up to see the star quarterback of the Eastview Terriers football team, Malcolm Dale. He was the one kid in the entire school who knew Nico’s secret- and he was the one guy Nico would have never told. It was stupid how he had found out in the first place- and it was all Nico's fault. The stupid guy was grinning at Nico, leaning against the lockers- and Nico was  _ still _ shorter than him. Slowly, Nico pulled his headphones off of his ears, the dull roar of conversation around him suddenly growing so loud Nico couldn’t think. “How’s that paper coming, Neeks?” Malcolm asked over the noise, smiling as if  _ Neeks _ was some sort of pet name that Nico  liked . 

 

Nico looked up at him through his messy hair. “It’s fine.” He mumbled, his voice barely over a whisper. Sometimes Nico didn’t talk for days on end because no one bothered to hear him. It didn’t bother Nico at all- it was easier to pretend he wasn’t there if he was silent. 

 

Malcolm bit his lip, the smile not fading as he scanned Nico’s face. Nico wished he could shrink into himself and  _ disappear _ . It’d be so easy for everyone if he was just gone, if he just faded away into the shadows. “You coming to the game Friday?” 

 

_ No _ . He shrugged. “Haven’t thought about it.” Nico managed, staring down at his black and white sneakers. Malcolm’s bright green sneakers seemed to scream up at him, taunting him from the floor.

 

The quarterback slapped Nico’s shoulder in the way that all of the stupid jocks did, as if it showed affection or “broship” or whatever the hell it was. “You should. Come support me.” Malcolm’s grin widened as he nodded. “It’d be great to have a gay guy in the stands. Maybe one of the cheerleaders will drop out or get hurt and you’ll get your chance to shine-” Nico shut his eyes, turning to walk away when Malcolm’s hand clamped tightly on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. “Whoa, sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you or anything. Anyways, cheerleading isn’t just for girls. You should try it out- you’d fit right in.” Nico pulled away, glaring up at his stupid,  _ stupid _ for a moment- but it wasn’t a real glare because he didn’t have enough energy or will to do that- before turning and walking away, ignoring the laughing from behind him. 

 

_ Please let no one have heard him please let no one have heard him _ … Nico’s stomach ached and he could feel Malcolm's gaze boring into the back of his head, watching him as he walked down the halls. It would be so easy for Malcolm to tell everyone and then it’d be out in the open, as if Nico wanted that. As if anyone would really  _ care _ , Nico thought as he walked into his Math class and took his seat in the back of the room, ignoring the teacher’s “hello”. No one would care enough to react because no one knew or cared to know who Nico was. 

 

Nico shut his eyes, turning his head towards the window, pulling his headphones back over his ears. The guitar had given way to a softer song-  _ We Might Be Dead By Tomorrow _ by Soko. Nico slowly opened his eyes, staring out at the parking lot filled with cars. The light flooded into the classroom, which almost depressed Nico more. His eyes fluttered shut again. He was ready for today to be over... 

 

A few minutes later, Nico felt a tap on his shoulder. He flinched back, turning his head instantly, expecting to see Malcolm’s stupid face looking down at him with that stupid grin… Instead, a boy Nico had never seen before stood in front of him, pulling at his backpack strap. Nico pulled his headphones off, looking up into the boy’s blue eyes. “What.” Nico sighed, not really asking a question. 

 

“Are you Nico?” Nico hesitantly nodded, confused. “I’m Will. Will Solace?” The boy said, holding out his tan hand as if that solved all of Nico’s questions. When Nico didn’t move to shake his hand, Will nodded, awkwardly pulling his hand back. “I was told that you have a similar schedule as I do? I’m new and I honestly don’t really know my way around here…” He met Nico’s eyes again. “I was told that you could help me?” 

 

_ Of course you were _ . Nico sighed. He hated interacting with people more than he had too, which was ironic because, at times, all he wanted was someone to talk too. But, whenever he was given the opportunity to do so, Nico always shied away because he had no idea how to talk to anyone anymore. “Sure.” Nico answered emotionlessly. 

 

Will smiled. “Cool.” His blue eyes wouldn’t leave Nico’s, which unnerved him. Why wouldn’t this kid look away from him? Most people didn’t even see him, but now Will Solace was staring right at him without flinching or laughing or anything. It was weird- Nico wasn’t used to being stared at. 

 

Nico looked away from his face, hating being the first to break eye-contact but he couldn’t stare at that kid anymore. “Is that it?” Nico asked. 

 

“Uh…” Will seemed taken aback. Nico glanced over at him again, raising his eyebrows. Nico didn’t mean to be mean- but, because he didn’t have any social skills, he was anyways. Will pointed to the seat beside Nico. “Is this seat taken?”

 

Nico looked beside him, almost surprised. No one ever sat next to him voluntarily. They hadn’t been assigned seats yet, so no one was required to be near him for at least a few more days. Nico looked back up, meeting Will’s blue gaze again. Will had a lot of freckles covering his face, he realized suddenly. He looked like a surfer. Nico looked away and shrugged in response, his heart beating a little faster than normal. 

 

Will nodded again. “Cool.” He repeated, then sat down next to Nico. Nico turned to look at him for a moment, opening his mouth to try to say something- maybe to apologize for already being so cold, to ask why he wanted to sit next to him, to just… keep talking- but Will was looking through his bag, probably already regretting his decision to talk and sit next to Nico. 

 

Nico sighed, pulling his headphones back over his ears again, cursing himself silently. He had to be better. He had to learn to be better or else this year would be even worse than the last. 

  
  


**************************

  
  


_ Alone has become a friend, _

_ Loneliness is the shadow that you follows like a dog, _

_ Ready to jump on you and pull you down to play. _

 

_ The only thing you feel connected to is the beat of the music, _

_ With the melodies and the headphones. _

_ The shadows outside, _

_ And the darkness inside. _

_ The silence echoing in the house, _

_ With the drawn curtains and the empty rooms, _

_ Only occupied by you and the figure watching TV. _

_ The darkness that lurks inside you, _

_ Ready to spring out and pierce the hearts of others. _

_ Ready to break whatever you carefully build. _

_ The bubble of emotions, _

_ Ready to burst open and explode like a bomb. _

 

Nico took a deep breath, rubbing his eyes as he erased the two stanzas. For English, he was supposed to write a poem then read out loud in class. There wasn’t a certain topic they had to write about, so Nico was at a blank. He couldn’t write anything without it turning “edgy” and “emo”. He had been trying to write the stupid poem for the past hour. He was at the point where he would just rather get a 0 than actually write the thing. 

 

The silence was getting deafening again. He looked up and at the door, where he could see the glow of the TV, like always, but there was no sound. Nico wasn’t sure if he was just unable to hear it, or if it was really that quiet. His stomach growled, but Nico didn’t want to eat- or he didn’t want to go out and face the silence in person. He wasn’t sure which one was more truthful.

 

Nico rubbed his eyes before shutting the computer. He laid back, pushing the laptop away from him as he stared up at the ceiling. It was a gross-white color and bumpy, but it was easy to get lost in. He grabbed his phone- which was broken and barely functioning, but it still worked- and headphones. Pulling them over his ears, Nico pressed play and tried to push away the loud quiet. He took a deep breath, pressing his hands against his chest as he stared up at the white ceiling, wishing he could just fade away into it. 

 

He didn’t think he was going to go to school tomorrow.

  
  


**************************

  
  


_ “Where are we going?” Bianca asked. She was sitting beside him, her long, dark hair pinned back from her face. It was different to see her without her green cap covering her eyes. Really different. _

 

_ “It’s a surprise.” Mom glanced back at them, smiling. They were in the small, silver car, driving to… well, he didn’t know where. It was an adventure.  _

 

_ Nico looked back at Bianca, wondering why she decided to stop wearing her green cap. She used to wear it all the time. It was… like her thing. Nico got so used to see her with it that she didn’t look the same without it. “Bianca.” He said. His sister looked over at him. “Why don’t you wear your hat anymore?” He asked.  _

 

_ Bianca shrugged, reaching up as if to brush hair back from her eyes. “I just don’t want too.” _

 

_ That didn’t make sense. She had worn the hat for years. She wouldn’t just one day not want to wear it anymore. “Why?” Nico asked. _

 

_ “Because I don’t want too, Nico.” Bianca sounded a little irritated now, which confused Nico even more. _

 

_ “Why are you mad at me?” He asked, crossing his arms.  _

 

_ Bianca rolled her eyes, looking out the window. “I’m not mad.”  _

 

_ “You sound mad.” _

 

_ “Well I’m not.” Bianca sure sounded mad.  _

 

_ “Bianca.” Mom said from the front seat. “Be nice. He’s just asking a question.” _

 

_ Bianca sighed, resting her head back against the seat and staring at the window again. “Whatever…” She mumbled. Nico made a note to ask his mom why Bianca was being so weird. She usually was very talkative and happy, but lately she didn’t seem happy. Nico hated it when she wasn’t happy.  _

 

_ They drove in silence for a few moments before Mom pressed the button to turn on the radio. A few notes came out and Bianca began to sing softly under her breath, almost like she didn’t want them to hear. That was weird too. Bianca usually sang loudly and didn’t care who was in the car. Why was she acting so weird? _

 

_ “How was school today?” Mom asked after the song ended.  _

 

_ “It was awesome. We got a thing today in science and now we have to draw what the moon looks like every night for a month. It’s gonna be so cool- cause it does stuff like waxing and waning, where it gets bigger and smaller?” Nico grinned, nodding. “The moon is cool.”  _

 

_ “That sounds like fun.” Mom glanced back at Bianca, who was still staring out the window. “Bianca? Did you do anything fun today?” _

 

_ “Not really.” She answered. “It was pretty boring.”  _

 

_ The car got silent, except for the music playing from the radio. Even Bianca wasn’t singing anymore. “So wake me up when it's all over When I'm wiser and I'm older All this time I was finding myself And I didn't know I was lost…” Nico sighed, looking out the window too. It had started to rain, the sky really, really dark. He looked at the back of his mom’s head and pressed his head against the seat back. He didn’t know what had happened. Usually he, his mom, and Bianca were happy. Now, it felt just like it did whenever Dad was in the car. “Where are we going?” Nico asked.  _

 

_ Mom slowed down at an intersection, smiling back at him. “You’ll see, I told you.” _

 

_ “I know but where?” Nico pressed his head against the window beside him.   _

 

_ “Nico, it’s a surprise. She’s not going to tell us.” Bianca answered before Mom could, sounding annoyed. “Just shut up.” _

 

_ “Bianca.” Mom’s tone was angry now. Nico didn’t understand- Bianca had never told him to shut up before. He and Bianca were close- she was his best friend. Why was she mad at him all of a sudden?! Why did she hate him?! He hadn’t done anything to her- not that he could remember. So why was she being so mean?  _

 

_ “Why are you mad at me?” Nico asked again.  _

 

_ Bianca sighed. “I’m not.” _

 

_ “Why did you tell me to shut up then?” _

 

_ “Because you’re being annoyed.” _

 

_ “Bianca!” Mom cut her off. “Apologize to him. He was just asking a question.” _

 

_ “He’d already asked the question!” Bianca protested, her arms crossed. Nico looked over at her, confused. She looked over, meeting Nico’s gaze. “What?”  _

 

_ Nico looked away, looking up at Mom. His heart felt heavy now. Bianca was mad at him now- what if she hated him and he hadn’t done anything wrong? What if she never wanted to talk to him again? Was it because he wasn’t in middle school yet? He shut his eyes, leaning his head back against the window. The music filled silence for a moment for a moment. “All this time I was finding myself And I didn't know I was-”  _

  
_ “Shit!” Mom yelled. Nico’s eyes opened and he turned his head in time to see the bumper of a big truck about to slam into the side of the car, right where his mom was sitting. Nico had just enough time to scream- because suddenly, he had  _ known _ this would happen and he didn’t do  _ anything- _ before there was a loud sound- like a bomb exploding, except louder and  _ everywhere _. The entire car seemed to bend inwards, and suddenly all he felt was pain- everywhere and all at once-, crushing him into cold darkness _ .  __

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yupppp... I've got a lot planned for Nico haha... He's gonna have a lot going on. 
> 
> Also I have no idea how to write Will Solace? I honestly didn't start liking him until like last year so... I mean, I'll try my best, but he might be a little OOC just because I don't know how to write him well. 
> 
> So that's all of the POV's! It should usually go in this order- Annabeth, Percy, Leo, Nico. I'll try hard to keep them in order, but sometimes it might be necessary to have them out of order. It'll cause me hella pain, but I'll try my best lol. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Her thumb pressed the green accept button and she slowly lifted the phone to her ear, feeling strangely excited and terrified at the same time. “Hi mom.”

Annabeth glanced over at the clock, which had just struck 11:00pm. She knew that she should go to sleep- because school was never easy when she was tired; everyone just annoyed her even more than usual- but she didn’t feel tired. This was normal- Annabeth procrastinate going to sleep a lot of the time because, as much as she loved just getting to rest, part of her felt like sleeping was just a waste of time. 

 

She looked back at the article she was reading, something about Roman architecture. It wasn’t school work- it might have started out that way, but Annabeth loved learning about architecture of any kind, old or new. She was the head of the architecture club at her school, but no one took it seriously except for her.

 

Her mind fell back to earlier today, to Brunner’s class. She hadn’t realized it when she had gone over his schedule, but she was in the same American Lit. class as Percy Jackson. And, of course, because she was his peer mentor, Brunner put them next to each other. So Annabeth was confined to a small seat, next to a boy who seemed to either have too much energy or not enough, depending on the moment. A boy whom Annabeth was, essentially, in charge of. 

 

She sighed, slowly shutting the laptop cover. The words had been swimming, her mind not wrapping around them. She had been trying to finish the article before the first official meeting of the architecture club (which sounded kind of like a stupid and ridiculous idea of a club, but they didn’t have an official class dedicated to the subject, so this would be the closest that Annabeth would get), but she guessed it would have to wait until tomorrow. Annabeth slid her laptop onto the ground as her phone began to ring. 

 

She looked over to where it was sitting atop three books( _ Anna and the French Kiss _ (which she’d yet to start),  _ The Evolution of Mara Dyer _ (the second great series), and  _ The Martian _ (which she was currently almost done with)). Her mouth fell open slightly and she swung herself around so she was sitting up. Annabeth’s hand grabbed onto her vibrating phone, her heart beginning to beat quickly. 

 

The name  _ Mom _ stared up at her, the background turned gray because Annabeth didn’t have a profile picture for her because she hadn’t seen her in years. Her thumb pressed the green  _ accept _ button and she slowly lifted the phone to her ear, feeling strangely excited and terrified at the same time. “Hi mom.” Her voice was soft. 

 

“Annabeth.” Her mother’s voice was exactly the same, professional and yet warm. It made Annabeth smile, pulling her legs under the blanket. “How are you?”

 

“Good.” Annabeth found herself smiling. She always looked forwards to her mom’s calls. She seemed to be the only person who understood Annabeth’s drive and ambition, but she was miles and miles and miles away in California. “I’m good.”

 

“Good…” Her mom fell silent for a while. Usually Annabeth hated silence, but this type was warm and made her feel good because even if they weren’t talking, Annabeth knew her mom would listen to anything she had to say and understand. “Have you started school?” Her mom asked a moment later. 

 

Annabeth fell back onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling. “Yeah… We started two days ago.” 

 

“How is that?”

 

“Chaotic.” Annabeth smiled a little wider. “I mean, it’s good, it’s just… getting back into the swing of things is hard for some people so we haven’t done much so far…” 

 

“Oh.” It sounded like her mom was smiling too. “Well I hope that you start doing things soon.”

 

“Me too…” Annabeth looked over at the clock, which had just hit 11:05. She really should get to bed, incase they did start learning tomorrow. But, knowing her school, they had until the end of the week. “How have you been?” Annabeth asked a moment later. 

 

Her mom sighed. “Busy… very busy, but good…” A tense pause. “How is your father?”

 

Annabeth looked up at the ceiling. “He’s fine.” It was always awkward answering her mother’s questions about her family life in here. Annabeth’s parents hadn’t ever been married because her mother didn’t want to be tied down. Annabeth could kind of understand why- especially when she had been on track to becoming one of the most successful lawyers in California, where she was now. Her parents had tried to make it work, with Annabeth’s dad living in California too, but his job had demanded he move back to New York and he took Annabeth with him because “her mother couldn’t decide between her child and work so he made the decision for her”, or so Annabeth’s father had explained. Kind of ironic, seeing as Annabeth’s dad now had a similar problem. “He’s really busy too.” Annabeth added. 

 

“Does he still work at West Point?” Annabeth’s mom asked. 

 

“Yeah. Yeah, he does…” Annabeth took a deep breath. “I don’t see him much though.” She added quickly. “He’s really, really busy.” 

 

Her mom seemed to sense that Annabeth didn’t really want to talk about it. It seemed, to Annabeth anyways, that her mom always wanted to know more and more about her father’s new life. Like, despite the bad terms she’d left on the last time she came to visit, she still cared.  _ Of course she cares _ , Annabeth told herself.  _ She had a baby with him _ . “Have you begun to look at colleges yet?” Her mom asked, interrupting Annabeth’s train of thought.

 

“Yes.” Annabeth’s grade technically was supposed to start looking and researching colleges next week, but- as usual- Annabeth was way ahead of her classmates. She hadn’t toured any college campuses- except for Columbia, but that was because it was so close- but she had been looking at requirements, tuition fees, and programs in almost all of her spare time. “But we haven’t started counselling yet, but I’ve started to make a list anyways…”

 

“Can I hear it?” Her mom asked and Annabeth’s heart swelled, a smile spreading across her face as she started to rattle of college names off of the top of her head, her mother giving additional input every once and a while. It made her feel amazing- talking to her mother about something as big as college and having her understand exactly what Annabeth was trying to say. She wished she could have more conversations like that. 

 

Annabeth glanced over at the clock once again. It was nearly midnight. She sighed. “I should probably…” 

 

“Oh. Of course.” Her mom’s tone had dropped. 

 

“It’s just I have school tomorrow and it’s getting pretty late.” Annabeth added quickly. “But you can call me again anytime.” She felt like it was necessary to add this in because the spaces between every conversation with her mother felt like they were getting longer and longer. 

 

“Of course, honey… I should probably get back to work too…” The silence had returned, but it wasn’t as friendly and warm as it had been earlier. Annabeth shut her eyes. “I’ll talk to you again soon.” Her mother said, the same way she always did. Soon had begun to mean unpredictably long periods of time. “I love you, Annie.” 

 

“Yeah.” Annabeth said softly. “I love you too.”

 

“Bye.” The phone line went dead before Annabeth could say goodbye. 

  
  


**************************

  
  


The school day, as usual, was boring and monotonous. Annabeth’s classes were basically just a place for friends to hang out and laugh while the teacher attempted to get them under control. The only classes they had started to learn in was Brunner’s classes and that was because Mr. Brunner had this crazy way of controlling all of the kids in his classes with a cough or a look. 

 

But what Annabeth had been looking forward too was afterschool, the first day of the architecture club. Mr. Brunner was the mentor for the club, but he essentially let Annabeth run it. She hoped that the people who hadn’t taken in seriously had decided not to come back this year and that some new students would come in and  _ try _ , instead of using the classroom as a place to hang out after school. 

 

Annabeth pushed open the door to room 229 and stepped inside. Mr. Brunner was sitting at his desk, reading a paperback novel- like always. The teacher always looked small, due to the fact that he was in a wheelchair. No one knew the truth as to why he was confined to the chair, but the student body had lots and lots of theories- none of which Annabeth believed. Mr. Brunner had a brown, scruffy beard and hair, dark brown eyes, and one of the kindest faces Annabeth had ever seen. He looked up from his book and smiled at her. “Annabeth.”

 

“Hi.” Annabeth set her bag down at the desk closest to his table. “How was your day?” She asked, leaning against the desk. 

 

Mr. Brunner sighed, putting a bookmark into his paperback. “It was just as productive as any other day this week has been.” He met Annabeth’s eye and smiled, making her smile back.. Annabeth usually felt awkward making conversation with teachers, but Mr. Brunner was different. He was her favorite teacher for this very reason- he was the only person, other than her mom, who she believed thought like her. “What about yours?”

 

Annabeth shrugged. “It was fine… really long, but…” She met his gaze again. “Did anyone talk to you about joining? I talked to one person, but I’m not sure if she was really interested.” She asked hesitantly. 

 

Mr. Brunner nodded, looking down at a paper on his desk and moving it so he could read what was written. “A few… but I guess we’ll see who turns up.” He looked up before his eyes moved to the door. 

 

“Uh… hi.” Annabeth turned around, meeting the brown eyes of a boy standing in the doorway, looking around the room. “Architecture club, right…?” He added, stepping inside hesitantly. “I’m Leo Valdez? I think I talked to you earlier.” He gestured towards Mr. Brunner, who nodded. The boy- Leo Valdez- met Annabeth’s gaze. She didn’t know what to do, so she nodded. “Cool.” Leo said slowly before adding, “So I’m in the right place…?”

 

“Yes, you are.” Mr. Brunner said from behind Annabeth. She looked back at him and met his gaze. He gestured with his head towards the boy in the doorway, as if expecting her to take it from there.

 

Annabeth met Leo’s eyes again and smiled a little. Leo Valdez was small and skinny, with this look of… almost insane geniousity. He had a mop of curly, dark brown hair that looked untameable and an expression that looked mischievous even though he wasn’t grinning. His eyes darted around with a slightly crazed look, as if he had had one too many cups of coffee. “Hi.” Annabeth said after a moment. “I’m Annabeth…”

 

Leo nodded, stepping inside and moving to the desk beside her. He set his bag down on the ground, looking up at Annabeth and Mr. Brunner. His eyes met Annabeth’s. “So when I talked to Mr. Brunner earlier, he said this wasn’t just about architecture…? Like it was also like… engineering and design and stuff…?” 

 

Annabeth nodded. “Yeah. In the past years, we’ve analyzed architecture and tried to build small scale models, but no big projects or anything like that…” She sighed, remembering with distaste the last time they’d tried to make a small scale model of a building. Annabeth had finished hers in less than a week and spent the next three waiting for the rest of the students to finish up theirs. 

 

“Cool cool… I like engineering and stuff like that.” Leo said. He talked fast- not as if he was afraid someone would interrupt him, but like his mind was going too fast for his mouth to keep up. So far, Annabeth wasn’t sure what to make of him. Maybe if he liked engineering, then Annabeth couldn’t be the only person to really try here… That excited her, but she had to consider the fact that this kid didn’t seem to be able to sit still. “So you’re a senior?” He asked a moment later, meeting Annabeth’s gaze again.

 

She shook her head. “Junior.” A lot of people mistook her for a senior, so she wasn’t surprised. “Are you new this year?” 

 

Leo’s gaze lowered immediately. “No, I was here last year.” He said before meeting her gaze again, leaving Annabeth wondering why his tone had dropped. But just as quickly as it had lowered, it came back up to the way it had been before- energetic and happy, instead of sad and uncomfortable. He smiled, shrugging. “Best kind of sophomore- the Leo Valdez kind.”

 

Annabeth smiled, raising an eyebrow. “I’m sure… Did you hear if anyone else was coming?” 

 

“I heard from one or two others.” Mr. Brunner added. “But I’m not sure if they were serious.”

 

Annabeth looked up at the clock. It was only 2:48. They had another 12 minutes until the meeting officially started- if it could even be called a meeting. The so-called meetings last year started 15 minutes late, when the 3 other people in the group finished talking with one another and decided to listen to Mr. Brunner speak and by then, they only had around half an hour left- but that half an hour would be spent similarly to how the first 15 minutes had gone by. “Guess we’ll have to see.” 

  
  


**************************

  
  


**Hazel: Leo Valdez is in your architecture club?**

 

**Annabeth: Yeah, he’s the only other person so far. He seems interesting**

 

**Hazel: He is. He’s really sweet and funny, but he’s such a flirt**

 

**Hazel: Watch out Annie, he always goes for girls that are way out of his league. You’re probably next haha!!!**

 

**Annabeth: oh come on Hazel**

 

**Annabeth: Do you know him?**

 

**Hazel: Yeah he and I dated last year**

 

**Annabeth: Really??**

 

**Hazel: Uh huh. I’m friends with his foster sister and we dated for a few months before summer started**

 

**Hazel: He’s really nice, but he’s kind of quick to joke**

 

**Hazel: Like to a point where he doesn’t think before he speaks**

 

**Annabeth: I kind of got that sense from him**

 

**Hazel: But he’s great, don’t get me wrong!!**

 

**Hazel: He just felt more like a brother than a boyfriend to me I guess**

 

**Annabeth: Well he must be okay if he was like a brother then**

 

**Hazel: Yeah**

 

**Hazel: Speaking of boyfriend**

 

**Hazel: Guess who asked me to homecoming today???**

 

**Annabeth: OMG who???**

 

**Hazel: Frank!!!!**

 

**Annabeth: Really?! That’s awesome Hazel!!!**

 

**Hazel: I know!!!**

 

**Hazel: It was kind of funny- he was really nervous so he just said it really really fast. He was so flustered. It was really cute!!**

 

**Annabeth: I’m happy for you :) Frank seems like a great guy**

 

**Hazel: He is! We’ve been friends forever and I’m glad that he finally asked me out lol!!!**

 

**Hazel: I have to go- mom needs help with the store. I’ll talk to you later Annie!!!**

 

**Annabeth: Bye Hazel!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao this chapter seemed a lot more interesting when I planned it


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He felt kind of bad- she was trying to make conversation and be polite (mostly because she was his peer mentor), but it was just… awkward. Not only was Percy having trouble focusing on anything relatively happy or… good, they didn’t seem to have a lot in common. Annabeth seemed to have all her ducks in a row. Percy had lost most of his ducks and they’d been eaten by a rogue animal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> iTS BEEN LIKE 5 MONTHS HEY IM BACK
> 
> TW: child abuse (in the third section)

“How are you feeling about transferring here?” Annabeth asked. “Is it going okay?” She was sitting across from him at lunch, where Percy had taken to sitting with her due to the fact that he didn’t really know anyone else yet. The only other person he’d had somewhat of a good interaction with was a boy in his gym class called Jason, but that was only because he had been on the same team for a basketball game.

 

Percy shrugged. “Just great. I love transferring to new schools.” He looked up at her, meeting her cold, grey gaze. He grinned a little, trying to make a joke because being sarcastic and joking around was what got him through the long, _long_ days. “It’s my favorite past time.”

 

Annabeth looked down at her lunch box, pursing her lips. Apparently she didn’t like to eat the ‘food’ that was given to them every day as lunch. If Percy could stand to be out of his room for longer than 3 minutes, he’d probably do the same. Maybe he’d start to get a sandwich on the way to school, but then he’d have even less money… _Maybe it’d be easier to sneak it past Gabe that way_. Percy sighed, forcing his thoughts back- which was difficult. “How do you like your classes?” She asked a moment later.

 

He shrugged again. “They’re classes.” Percy didn’t have an easy time with school- he was dyslexic and ADHD, so that was always fun. Added with the fact that most teachers (and other students, in fact) hated him and seemed to single him out as the trouble maker instantly, school could be pretty bad. But granted, he’d rather be at school than home… he’d rather be _anywhere_ than home…

 

“Were you going to try out for the swim team?” Annabeth asked another awkward moment later. He felt kind of bad- she was trying to make conversation and be polite (mostly because she was his peer mentor), but it was just… awkward. Not only was Percy having trouble focusing on anything relatively happy or… good, they didn’t seem to have a lot in common. Annabeth seemed to have all her ducks in a row. Percy had lost most of his ducks and they’d been eaten by a rogue animal.

 

“Oh, yeah.” Percy nodded. He’d almost forgotten about it. The tryouts had been last Friday and, surprisingly, a lot of kids had shown up. “Yeah, I went.”

 

“How did it go?” She asked, opening her pale blue lunchbox and pulling out a wrapped up sandwich. Her eyes kept darting up towards the lunch lines, as if she couldn’t wait for someone else to come and join them. Again, Percy didn’t really blame her.

 

He thought back to it. The swimming had honestly seemed really simple and easy, but granted Percy had been swimming since he was in diapers. Some people played an instrument or went for longs runs when they were stressed. Percy swam. He’d never taken a real swimming class before, but by the time he was old enough to understand how to use a computer, he looked up videos and basically taught himself the basics and the more advanced stuff. It was kind of weird, but it gave him something to focus on that wasn’t Gabe and home and money. “It went alright.” He shrugged, looking up at her. “I mean, I think it went alright.”

 

Annabeth smiled a little. It seemed a little forced. “That’s good! Tryouts are always the worst part, in my opinion.”

 

Percy raised an eyebrow. “What do you tryout for?” It sounded a lot more judgemental that he had wanted it to, he realized as soon as the words came out of his mouth.

 

Her smile faded immediately and she stiffened. “What is that supposed to mean?”

 

“Uh… nothing?” Percy cursed himself. “Nothing, sorry-”

 

“I play soccer.” Annabeth’s voice seemed to bite him.

 

He desperately tried to back-track. “Oh… oh, that’s cool.” Her expression didn’t change, but she stopped looking at him and continued to search in the crowd behind him for someone else. _Damn it Percy_ … He sighed, looking down at the food on his tray. He suddenly didn’t feel much like eating.

 

**************************

  


The halls were crowded at the end of the day. Percy tried to push his way through the crowd, who were all congregated around the bulletin boards. Everyone was talking, their words loud and jumbled together in Percy’s head. He rubbed his eyes, pushing his way to the front of the crowd and wishing they’d all just shut up.

 

It seems that all of the sports teams had released their rosters in the same 15 minutes, which caused a lot of congestion and conflict. Percy’s eyes searched for the swim team roster, looking over pages and pages before finally landing on it. He scanned the paper for J… _Jackson, Percy_. He found it, halfway down the list.

 

He’d made it.

 

Percy smiled a little bit. He felt… kind of weird about it. Yeah, he’d wanted to be on the team- it gave him an excuse not to be home and also, um, free swimming?-  but… _Varsity Swim Team_? It just sounded preppy and… weird. It gave him a weird feeling in his stomach that he couldn’t place.

 

The list directly under started with the name _Annabeth Chase- captain_ . He had enough time to register that it was _Women’s Varsity Soccer_ before he was pushed back into the mob of students. Somehow, as if willed by fate, he found himself standing next to his blonde mentor. She looked up at him, expression unreadable. Guilt nawed at his stomach, wondering how he’d managed to make her so angry in a matter of seconds- but then again, it made perfect sense. Percy sometimes didn’t think before he spoke. This was usually what happened. Despite this, he offered her a smile. “Congratulations.”

 

Percy turned and left the building.

 

**************************

  


He made it back home, pushing his leftover money into his shoe. Hopefully whatever voodoo magic his step-father used to sense money would be disrupted by the fact that it was under his foot, pressed into the bottom of his worn out sneaker.

 

Percy took a deep breath, trying to listen through the door. He couldn’t hear any voices, which meant either no one was home (the better answer) or Gabe was passed out (in which Percy’s presence would probably wake him up, with Percy’s luck). As quietly as possible, Percy unlocked the door and pushed it open, immediately overwhelmed by the disgusting smell. _Home sweet home_.

 

His eyes scanned the room, immediately locating the walrus-sized man that was his stepfather, asleep on the couch. Percy shut the door almost silently behind him, not daring to take his eyes off of Gabe. He was like a wild animal that you didn’t dare break eye-contact with.

 

That’s what he reminded Percy of- a severely overweight, ugly bear.

 

Of course, that’s when Percy stepped on an old beer can. It crunched loudly under his foot and Percy flinched, stumbling backwards but the damage had been done. The bear had woken up.

 

Gabe groaned, rubbing his eyes. Percy cursed under his breath, wondering if he had enough time to run to his room and lock the door- but then when his mother got home… Nothing about this was okay, but if Percy had to take the brunt of Gabe’s fury to keep his mother safe, then it’d be okay. Or as okay as it could be. “The hell are you doing here?” Gabe grumbled, looking out at Percy with a glare that seemed to pierce through his chest.

 

“I’m back from school.” Percy forced his tone to be level. Looking at Gabe laying on the couch, Percy felt stupid for not fighting back against him. He wanted nothing more than to attack him, but they had nowhere else to go and if Percy did, Gabe would kick them out. And a roof over their head was better than nothing, even if this big, angry asshole was included as apart of the package deal.

 

He sat up, his pot-belly almost obscuring his vision. “Haven’t you ever learned of being quiet? Ever passed through your mind to be polite?”

 

 _What, did I disturb your beauty rest?_ Percy wanted to snap. _I’m sorry- I’m really sorry because you really need it_. “Sorry.” He said instead.

 

Gabe raised an eyebrow, getting to his feet unsteadily. Percy had a theory that Gabe had drunk so much over the years that he was just permanently intoxicated. It made a lot of sense, the more he thought about it. “Sorry?” Gabe raised a furry eyebrow as he stalked towards Percy. “You don’t sound very sorry, kid.”  


“I’m _really_ sorry I interrupted your rest.” Sarcasm dripped from Percy’s voice without even thinking. Gabe just made him _so mad_... “Please, by all means, go back and get some more of it right now.”

 

His stepfather’s meaty hands shot out, grabbing Percy’s shirt collar and yanking him forwards. It took all of Percy’s concentration not to strike back to get away. “Don’t take that tone with me.” Gabe hissed. Percy could smell beer on his breath, which was impressive seeing that he’d just woken up. “You know how much work it is to support a brat like you?”

 

 _You don’t support me. My mom does. She supports all of us, because you’re way too heavy to carry your own weight_. Percy bit his tongue. His hands were shaking, he realized absentmindedly.

 

Gabe’s beady eyes stayed on Percy’s before he eventually let him go. Percy took a step back. He hadn’t realized it, but his heart was racing. “Where’s your leftover cash?” Gabe asked a moment later.

 

“I don’t have any.” Percy answered monotonously, trying to regain the breath he hadn’t known he had lost.

 

“You always say that.” His eyes narrowed. “And yet you always have some.”

 

“I really don’t.”

 

Gabe fell silent. Then suddenly, he lashed out. His hands his Percy in the stomach, pushing him backwards. Percy stumbled, just barely keeping his balance as he hit the chair behind him. He fell back into the cushy, gross seat, his heart pounding again as Gabe leaned over him. “Where’d you put it.” It wasn’t a question.

 

Percy forced himself to stare back at him, eye to eye. “I don’t. Have any.” He snapped, surprised at how level his voice was.

 

Gabe raised his hand and Percy had just enough time to brace himself for the pain before it came. “You ungrateful little _shit_ .” Gabe hissed, grabbing Percy by the hair. “I provide for _you and your mom_ , pay the bills to keep this apartment running, and you _lie to me_ and keep money that I _give you_ to feed yourself that that _school_ from me when I ask for it back.” He yanked on Percy’s hair and Percy unwillingly hissed. “Now _where the hell is the rest of the money_???”

 

Part of him wanted to give it up- the part of him that was trembling and terrified. But the rest of him never wanted to give Gabe anything ever again, even if it’s just a single penny. It was his way of defying the asshole’s ‘rules’. Gabe didn’t deserve it- and anyways, Percy and his mom needed it. This was exactly why.

 

He’d been told that he always picked too many hills to die on, that he fought too many unnecessary battles. But this was one battles he was determined to fight and keep fighting in until he got he and his mom the hell out of here. And Percy knew that if he kept fighting this battle, all it would do was get him hurt. But if that’s what it took to keep the stupid $17 dollars, Percy didn’t care.

 

Percy met his step-father’s gaze again, forcing himself to take a deep breath. He was tempted to spit in Gabe’s face. “I told you. I don’t have it.”

 

Gabe raised his hand again and Percy shut his eyes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I come back after 20 years and the first thing I do is hurt Percy... :/
> 
> Hi WOW Sorry this took so long... I don't really have an explanation as to why it took so long. I didn't really know where to go and I didn't have time to word vomit until I got something somewhat coherent. But now I have time!!! Hopefully I'll update this more (along with everything else lol whoops). I don't know how often this'll get updated from here, but I'll try to update it more than it has been (so... more than just once ever 5-6 months). Let's see if I can do that?
> 
> (I haven't read The Burning Maze yet but I've heard it's sad and I'm scared? I'm hopefully getting it tonight but Im actually terrified...also when Nico says in HoH that he's leaving both camps for good this time is he saying he's going to commit suicide??? Just a thought I had that I can't stop thinking about (cause everyone is always talking about how they don't know how he can bare so much darkness and sadness and stuff).... I'm shook sorry) 
> 
> Anyway if anyone actually reads this then I sincerely thank you and sorry it's been 20 years!!!!! All feedback is loved and makes me update faster!!!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo would be outta here, leaving this family behind. They’d probably feel guilty- something like "oh god we lost a kid!" - before realizing it was for the greater good. And this time, Leo wouldn’t get caught. He’d actually succeed in living his own life, on his own, away from families who didn’t accept or understand him. He’d be free.

Leo couldn’t focus. His brain seemed to bounce from one thing to the next without ever leaning on the one thing he needed it to land on- math. Algebra 1, to be exact. He didn’t even know why he bothered- since he was _going_ to leave (and soon), but for some reason trying and failing to focus on his algebra problems made sense to him.

 

Festus tugged on his pant leg. Leo looked down. The little puppy kept pulling, his wide eyes staring up at Leo with a sad sort of look, like he knew.

 

Of course, if everything had gone according to plan, Leo wouldn’t be here with the puppy now. Part of him was glad to still be in this house, with the cutest dog he’d ever had the pleasure of lookingat. Festus was too cute for his own good.

 

Still… today he was supposed to have left. He was supposed to have gotten off of the bus and walked straight off of school property without a backwards look. Leo was supposed to be in the next town by now, maybe further.

 

So why was he trying to do homework instead of focusing on something important like, oh I don’t know, packing for tomorrow? Honestly, he had no idea. Leo didn’t know why he did most things nowadays.

 

He sighed, setting down his pencil as he looked down at Festus, who was continuing to pull on Leo’s pant leg. “What?” Festus whined. “I’m still here, aren’t I?” The dog cocked his head slightly. Leo sighed. “Look Festus, it’s nothing personal. I just don’t belong here.”

 

There was a knock on Leo’s door. His heart leapt as Festus let out a loud-puppy bark. “Yeah?” He called, his heart still racing.

 

His foster-Dad Alec stuck his head into Leo’s room, a fake-smile on his face. “Hey Leo… have you seen my hammer?”

 

 _Yeah! Funny story, it’s in my closet, along with the majority of your other tools_. “No, no I haven’t… why?” Leo added nonchalantly.

 

“Ellen wants me to hang up a photo… damn, I wonder where that went then…” Alec sighed, rubbing the back of his balding head.

 

“Sorry.” Leo added, for more than one reason.

 

“Don’t apologize… let me know if you find it.” Alec added before stepping out of Leo’s room, leaving him alone again.

 

He let out a breath. He felt guilty lying to him, but sooner or later it wouldn’t matter. Leo would be outta here, leaving this family behind. They’d probably feel guilty- something like _oh god we lost a kid_!- before realizing it was for the greater good.

 

And this time, Leo wouldn’t get caught. He’d actually succeed in living his own life, on his own, away from families who didn’t accept or understand him. He’d be free.

 

Festus whined again, drawing Leo’s attention. He let his hand dangle down and the puppy licked it. He just wished he could bring Festus along with him.

 

***************

 

“I’m just saying,” Leo said, grinning. “She looks like the pink one from Harry Potter! You know, the one who’s obsessed with cats and punishing children?”

 

“You mean Umbridge?” Hazel, shaking her head back at him, answered. “That’s just mean, Leo…”

 

“It’s true though.” He shrugged, looking down at his watch. It was almost lunch time. 2 days later. He hadn’t gotten the nerve to pack his things up again. Part of him thought he was waiting for things to die down again- although what _things_ Leo was waiting for was beyond him. “In other words, we better protect our hands and not tell any lies.”

 

Hazel laughed a little. “I’m surprised you even remember _that_ much. You didn’t seem to be paying attention when we watched it.”

 

Fun fact- Leo had dated Hazel last year. It hadn’t ended badly because she felt more like a sister than anything else, but still- it was weird. Not totally weird- just… different. It was impossible to describe. He didn’t want to get back together wth her- no, it had felt weird and slightly unnatural. But… maybe it was overprotectiveness. Maybe it was just Leo being awkward, weird Leo.

 

“I can pay attentions _sometimes_.” Leo rolled his eyes. “Glad to see you have lots and lots of confidence in me, Hazel.”

 

“I _do_ have confidence in you, Leo.” She answered, still shaking her head. Her eyes lit up, which surprised Leo. He hadn’t done anything practically spectacular in the past 2 seconds. Until he realized that she was looking behind him. He turned around in time to see the one, the only Frank Zhang walk up to Hazel, almost completely blocking Leo out of the picture. His heart sank slightly as the two hugged.

 

Once again, Leo was the 3rd wheel. Like always.

 

“Oh! Leo, we’re gonna head to lunch.” Hazel said, as if remembering that- _hey_ , crazy thought- Leo was _still there_! “Do you want to come?”

 

“No, no…” Leo shook his head, trying to flash on of his classic, stored Leo-Valdez grins that he tried to have on demand at all times. “You guys go ahead, I’ll catch up with you in a… I’ll catch up with you.”

 

Hazel’s eyes scanned his face for a moment before Frank tugged on her hand and the two walked away, leaving Leo in a rapidly thinning out hallway.

 

Frank was nice enough- he looked threatening, but was one of the least-threatening people Leo knew. He just… didn’t seem to entirely like or trust Leo. Which was dumb. Leo was trustworthy. Most of the time.

 

He sighed. Who was he kidding. There was a reason he was always left out in the hallway, waiting and watching as everyone left him. It was the very same reason, he decided, he was going to skip town tomorrow.

 

The same reason Leo was going to start over, hopefully at least one state away.

 

***************

 

“Come _on_ …” Leo sighed, sitting back. Everything had fit into his bag a few days ago. There was no way it had shrunk in the past less-than-a-week.

 

Yet here he was, with a significant lack of tools fitting in his bag.

 

It didn’t make any sense. Leo understood most problems similar to this, but this one didn’t make sense. Or maybe it was just because he was exhausted, mentally and physically, from school.in all honesty, his rash decision to take off tomorrow wasn’t the best idea, especially if he couldn’t bring everything he’d planned.

 

He’d have to take another look at it tomorrow and figure it out then.

 

Leo quickly unpacked his backpack, throwing everything back into the corner of his closet. He’d hidden the tools and supplies in the left corner, behind a box of who-knows-what. He stood up, walking over to his bed before collapsing down onto the soft mattress. Leo’s eyes fluttered shut automatically. He hadn’t realized it, but he had a headache.

 

Automatically, his hands reached down and grabbed onto the ring hooked onto the chain around his neck. He held it up so it was level with his eyes, scanning each of the small grooves that lines the bronze ring.

 

Leo tried not to think too much about the past. He tried to focus, usually quite unsuccessfully too, on the future and on making things better. Which was why he was so bent on leaving. Things had to be better than they were now, with him stuck in this room, in the classrooms with the classmates who didn’t care about him, with Hazel and Frank- his only friend and a half (because he didn’t know Frank all that well and the big guy probably only tolerated his presence, the way most people did) ignoring him.

 

His hands clenched around the ring, holding it tight between two hands. Leo’s eyes fell shut again. He was too tired to think too much about that. He’d consider his new life and all the possibilities it would have later. Right now, Leo deserved a nap.

 

He drifted off into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I FINISHED THE BURNING MAZE AND IM SO UPSET
> 
> On a less important note, this chapter didn't really have anything interesting in it... sorry. Leo's story will get interesting soon, I promise!
> 
> Also this was written at like 2 in the morning so please be nice

**Author's Note:**

> High school stories give me life, so I figured why not write one? Lol let's try not to butcher this... 
> 
> Plz review and leave kudos if you enjoyed- it means so much! It'll get better I promise lol


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